Evolution of a Caged Bird
by ILycorisI
Summary: Colette Brunel started from birth with the cursed fate of a caged bird. But she was always smiling, a care-free and trusting soul. Right? Take a look through this "clumsy" Chosen's eyes and find she is not bound by appearance. Let those wings fly freely.


"_Holy wings, I beg of thee to reveal they glory, __**angel feathers**__!"_

Even as she realized the meaning behind the shimmering incandescent appendages that sprouted from her back she couldn't help but share her friends' excitement. They were the token of a sacrificial lamb, the single mark of blood before the slaughter, but in that first moment they were beautiful.

Each night she would unfold her wings once more from a day of journeying and feel the relief rush through her. Although they appeared mere fixations of light she could feel their slight weight on her shoulders all day, yearning to brush the sky and dispel all worries.

Her wings were always tender after hiding beneath her joints all day. The pains that shot from them and shivered down her spine took her by surprise and at other times even distracted from battle. Despite her persistent clumsiness Colette was well-aware of the changes that ebbed and flowed within her small feminine frame. She knew more of the pleasures and pain her body went through than she let on, after all despite all appearances Colette was still a sixteen year old girl.

Comforted by these thoughts and the gentle murmuring of the night she was able to momentarily pretend that this change was not so unlike the others. All the while she felt the soft hum of her wings against the air, they flickered within the dim light like two separate beings.

_"Thy faithful servant asketh for thy blessing. Honor us with the splendor of_

_thy song. __**Holy song**__!"_

Sometimes Colette would sing just to see how low her voice could go without her ears following. Even at a hoarse whisper the words would never leave her hearing. On the nights where Genis failed to sleep fitfully Colette would hum a simple lullaby with words added under her breathe only she could hear.

In town Lloyd would be the only one to notice Colette's mouth moving to the strange syllables of the angelic language, he didn't ask even when she was clearly testing her vocal chords, what he didn't know is that her makeshift rhymes were always meant for him alone.

Most often however, she would simply sing to herself until the tendons in her throat refused to move. Even then she never felt the burning sensation she had so often remembered, only a vast emptiness that echoed in the back of her throat from her useless nerves to her struggling heart.

_"Thy power floweth purely, ever unwavering. Accept my soul into thine embrace._

_**Sacrifice!**__"_

_The world would be much, much scarier if I was alive but with no one in it._

_I have to protect this place not as a fulfillment of prophecy, but for the sake of those dear to me._

_That's the way it has to be._

She had convinced herself of those words. Otherwise she wouldn't have been able to live with herself, she would have been a selfish, ignorant Chosen to ignore her duty but she couldn't just accept her fate either. She had been taught to love her world, but even without the priests' guidance she would have done so without a doubt, despite this it was because of this love that her inevitable death would be marked with just a hint of sadness. She would have liked to look upon that world with her own eyes just a little bit longer.

And yet, it was for her friends' sake that she willingly gave herself up on the battlefield. Quickly she chanted the incantation that would take her away from it all, wrapped in ethereal sheets as solid as a cocoon she would feel her very essence drain from her, but the thought of her friends awakening to gentle healing brought a smile to her parched lips.

Whenever she woke up after such a battle her memory was muddled and she felt as if she had left behind something of hers, something important. But the sight of her precious peoples' smiles and their words of thanks were enough to bring her back to normal. Yes, they were enough for now.

_"Oh Holy one, cast thy purifying light upon this corrupt soul. Light of_

_judgement, __**Judgement**__!"_

Bolts of heavenly lightning eliminated all but one of her opponents. As she approached the shuddering thief a flicker of memory crossed her mind, a maiden's image, familiar yet worn like a forgotten photograph. This girl looked at the man with pity from behind blue eyes too much like her own red ones. It didn't stop her chakram from slicing right through him however.

The lights of battle were beautiful and it was the only time she responded to anything. She knew the name that boy whispered with pain in his voice and love in his eyes had once been her own but it mattered not. All of them tried to get her to remember that own life, even the workings of her own brain seemed to respond at times but what no one understood was that this was the way it had to be. They couldn't see they were just the same, innocents slowly becoming changed and fitted to their unwanted fate, the only difference was that she had accepted her judgement.

_"Light of redemption that guides us to day break, listen to my voice. Holy prayers will be spoken for all eternity. Now let there be light! __**Grand Cross**__!"_

The coliseum hadn't called Colette Brunel "Super Girl" for nothing. Even after the Journey of Regeneration she wasn't afraid to use her angelic powers to right wrong-doings. However, the method she preferred was a simple, understanding smile.

After all, true understanding only comes from great hardship. She had been through that, yes, but that wasn't the reason she smiled. She smiled to ease others pain, to let them know someone out there cared. Because she cared a lot.

Most of all she smiled because she couldn't help herself, the joy she felt was the joy her loved ones gave her. The trust she wished to instill in people was merely the trust she built up again and again with the people she had learned to depend upon. As long as such things held true Colette believed the world would always be possible to save.

It was the reason she sang, the reason she laughed, the reason she cherished her unusual senses despite the lisolation she sometimes felt because of them. She had found her own meaning. It was burned in the shape of a cross, and it sparkled across the regenerated land.


End file.
